Face Your Fear
by Astra H. Lowelle
Summary: One night, Ninjago experiences a massive thunder-and-lightning storm, and Jay is loving every second of it. Some others? Not so much. It's time to face fears.
1. Chapter 1

_Bang!_

Jay huddled cozily into his blanket, rolling over to look at the lightning storm through the window. He never tired of watching streak after streak of bluey-white electricity fork open the skies, stabbing through the clouds to let down the rain.

"Very poetic," he laughed at himself. "Nya would like that."

Another deafening roll of thunder shook the room. Jay grinned, scooting closer to the window for a better view. He was just in time- a further flash of lightning branched downward into the ground.

Behind him, someone whimpered softly.

Jay whirled around. The room was dark, and none of the beds were empty. Kai was sleeping peacefully, a low snore emanating from him now and then. Zane was curled up in bed, eyes shut in serene calmness.

Cole's bed had blankets pulled up right over the occupant's head.

Jay slid out of bed and padded across the floor, reaching Cole just as another bolt of lightning illuminated the scene. Another faint whimper rose from underneath the blanket.

"Hey, Cole, what's going on?"

A hand reached out from the covers and pulled them off of their owner's head. Cole's face was chalk-white under his black hair, and his eyes were wild. _"Jay!"_

"Yeah, it's me." Jay tried to keep his voice down. "Why are you-?"

" _Shhhh!"_

Jay went quiet. Cole took a deep breath. A burst of white-blue light flashed through the room, followed instantly by a fierce explosion of thunder, and Cole flinched.

"You're scared of the thunder?" Jay whispered. Cole shook his head angrily, desperately.

"Not the thunder, Jay. Go back to bed."

"The rain, then?" Jay persisted doggedly. Cole shook his head again.

"Jay, I said _go back to bed!_ "

"Not until you tell me why you're hiding under the blanket."


	2. Chapter 2

Cole glared at Jay. Jay made himself comfortable on the edge of Cole's bed. "I can wait, man."

" _Fine."_ Cole spat the word. "I don't like the lightning, okay?"

Jay inhaled with surprise. _"Seriously?"_

"Go back to bed."

"No, sorry, I didn't mean- but I'm the Ninja of Lightning! That's my _element!_ You _never_ have problems when I do my thing!"

Cole sat up in bed, wrapping his arms around his knees. "Yeah, because you can control it. _This-"_ he indicated the window- "this you can't control. It's big, it's too bright, it hurts my eyes, and it scares me."

Jay grinned. "This is kinda surprising, Cole. I guess you could say it's a... bolt from the blue."

Cole didn't smile.

"Jay, if you tell _anyone_ , I'll-"

Jay's smile slid off his face. "Oh, come _on_ , Cole! Give me a break! Do you actually think I'd tell anyone about this?"

"You never know."

"Well," Jay said firmly, "I won't. You have my word."

He punched Cole lightly on the shoulder. "And if I break my word, may evil, misfortune and ill befall my very best pair of tuna floaties."

Cole, who had begun to smile, tensed.

"Do you hear something?"

"No," Jay said slowly. "What?"

"Something's going on in the next room." In an instant, Cole had shoved back the blanket and was stepping gingerly onto the floor. He put a finger to his lips, beckoning Jay to follow him.

The two ninja crept out of the bedroom and into the hallway, accompanied by more crashes of thunder. Lightning flashed twice, and Cole winced, but he kept going.

Cole pointed suddenly to a door, and suddenly Jay could hear it too- a low, muffled sob.

 _Should we knock?_ Jay mouthed. Cole nodded. Jay pointed to himself, one eyebrow raised in a question. _Want me to do it?_

Cole gave him a thumbs up. _What's a tuna floatie?_

 _Later,_ Jay mouthed, and knocked.

Nothing happened.

Jay knocked again, harder, to the same result. Cole put out a hand to stop him; his other hand twisting the doorknob.

The door swung open.


	3. Chapter 3

Jay stepped into Lloyd's room, looking around as he did so. This room was just as dark as the rest, but Jay's eyes had accustomed enough to give him a fairly good view of his surroundings.

The place wasn't exactly tidy, but a tornado it was not. Some of the drawers were open, a few articles of clothing were scattered around on the floor and on the bed, a figure was huddled underneath the blanket, quivering like mad.

" _Lloyd?"_ Cole breathed.

Lloyd's face appeared from under the blanket. His face was as white as Cole's had been, his lower lip trembling and his eyes enormous with terror. There were tear tracks all down his face. He took one look at the two ninja and jerked the blanket back over his head.

"Hey, Lloyd," Jay said softly, sitting down beside his friend and lifting the blanket slightly. "What's the matter?"

"The storm," Lloyd whispered. A fork of lightning threw the room into stark light, and another tear slid down Lloyd's cheek as he shivered in misery. "I know it's stupid, but I was terrified of them when I was a kid and I never outgrew it and I really, really, really hate thunderstorms. It- it- always sounds like some kind of monster-"

He shuddered into silence. Jay slung an arm around his friend's shoulders. "Don't worry, buddy. I got you. Just try and breathe, okay? No monster will dare come in on my watch."

Lloyd gave a sniffly laugh, and Jay pulled him to his feet. "C'mon, Lloyd. I want to show you something."

Cole followed as Jay led Lloyd out the door. He beckoned to Cole. "You too, big guy. We're going on a little trip."

Cole fell into step behind them. "Where're we going, Jay? It's actually pretty late."

"Oh, I know," Jay said contentedly. "Perfect weather."

"I don't like the look on your face," Lloyd said uncomfortably. "I really do not like the look on your face."

"Poor baby," Jay cracked. He reached the door and flung it open.

Cole stopped dead in his tracks. So did Lloyd.

Jay had thrown open to door leading outside into storm.


	4. Chapter 4

Jay put an arm around both of them, forcing them forward and into the rain. "C'mon, guys. Face your fear."

"I am not going outside," Cole said through his teeth. "It's pouring."

Lloyd took a step back, shrinking into the protection of the doorway. "Jay, do we have to?"

"Yep," Jay said cheerfully. "No ifs, ands, or buts."

Cole pressed his lips together. "Jay, I am not playing this game."

Jay tightened his grip. "No game, Cole. We're going outside-" he lowered his voice so only Cole could hear. "We're going to cure you of your lightning phobia, and Lloyd is going to get over his fear of storms."

"And what are you going to conquer _your_ fear of?" Lloyd asked shrilly. He had heard. Jay shrugged.

"I am the fearless Ninja of Lightning," he intoned. As if to agree, a streak of lightning stabbed athwart, flashing across the sky. Jay held up a hand near Cole's face, electricity crackling in his palm. The lightning struck down into it, causing Lloyd to leap backward with a whimper and Cole to give a short but violent scream.

"It didn't hurt you, Cole," Jay said soothingly. "See? Nothing happened. You're fine. It didn't hurt you."

Cole glared at him furiously. "It _could_ have! Don't _ever_ do that again!"

"Come on, Cole," Lloyd said nervously. "It didn't do anything, really."

A mighty crash of thunder shook the place, and Lloyd moaned in terror, grabbing Jay's arm in a pincer grip. Jay gripped Lloyd's arm. "Lloyd, it's just a loud noise. Just a loud sound. It's there, and it's over. See any monsters?"

"N-no," Lloyd quavered. Cole shook his head hard, sending water from his sodden hair splashing over the other two.

"Let's take a quick walk," Jay suggested. "Then we'll go in. Really."

"I-" Cole protested. Jay smiled sweetly. "You're down, Cole? Great! Let's do it!"

Lloyd nodded. "Okay, I'm r-ready."

"That's the green Ninja we all love," Jay grinned, leading his friends toward a place where an outcrop of rock shielded them from the rain. They all sat down underneath it.

"Not so bad anymore, right?"

Lloyd shook his head. "I guess so..."

Cole rolled his eyes. "I still say this was a dumb idea. It's pouring and we're all in pajamas and it's freezing. And besides, Jay, you said we would all face our fears tonight. I notice you haven't faced anything."

"I told you," Jay said easily. "I'm the fearless Ninja of Lightning!"

And _that_ was when a bolt of lightning smashed down onto the rocky projection.


	5. Chapter 5

The rocks came thundering down. Cole snatched Lloyd's wrist and jerked, dragging both of them out of harm's way.

With a soft _bonk,_ one pebble slid down the pile and came to a stop at Lloyd's feet.

"Man," he breathed. "That was _insane._ "

"I'll say," Cole agreed. "Jay?"

Jay didn't say anything. Cole spun around. "Jay?"

"Guys!" a muffled voice filtered through the rocks. "Help!"

"On no," Lloyd breathed. "Jay!"

He ran to the pile. "Jay! Jay, are you okay? Jay!"

"I'm okay," Jay said weakly. "But I'm stuck. And I'm kind of panicking because I really don't like being trapped in dark, enclosed spaces. I am _seriously panicking_ right now!"

Despite the rain and lightning, Cole's face broke into a broad grin. "Well, Jay, looks like you'll get to face your fear tonight, too."

" _I'm not kidding!"_ Jay yelled, some of the power and desperation in his voice lost between the big stones. "Cole, you're strong- _get me out of here!_ "

"Cole," Lloyd said nervously. "Maybe we should-"

"Nah," Cole said amiably. "Hey, Jay- while we're all out here, facing our fears, why don't you tell us why you're afraid of dark, enclosed spaces?"

"I don't mind being in dark, enclosed spaces!" Jay yelled. "I said I don't like being _trapped_ in dark, enclosed spaces! Now _let me out of here!_ "

"You didn't say 'please'," Cole replied, his voice sing-songy.

From inside the rocky prison came a voice that sounded as if its owner was very close to having a nervous breakdown. "Cole, come on…! _Please!_ "

"Why are you afraid of being trapped in dark, enclosed spaces?" Lloyd asked the rock pile, trying tactfully to take Jay's mind off of Cole. Jay moaned.

"When I was little my parents were conducting an experiment on top of a pile of junk and I was standing near them… at the edge… and there was an explosion… and I slid down and got stuck under a huge pile of stuff and I had to stay there while my parents tried to dig me out for _TWO WHOLE HOURS!_ "

His voice had been rising steadily in pitch throughout this monologue, and at the last few words, it reached fever pitch. A bolt of lightning accentuated his next words. _"NOW GET ME OUT OF HERE!"_

"It's like you said to me, Jay," Cole said soothingly. "It didn't hurt you, right? The dark isn't hurting you. Neither is the enclosed space."

A crash of thunder sounded. Inside the boulder prison, Jay heard Lloyd's voice add itself to Cole's. "Breathe, Jay! Do what you told me! Just try and breathe!"

Jay was briefly considering having a nervous breakdown and/or frying Cole's face off with a lightning bolt when Lloyd's shouted advice reached him. It made sense, and Cole would probably let him out soon enough.

He took a deep breath, a little surprised when his voice trembled slightly. "Okay…"

"That's it," Cole said encouragingly. "Hold it, I'll try the rocks now. Stay cool."

Jay heard Lloyd offer to help, and Cole's assurances that it wasn't necessary. The rocks seemed to close in on him again, and he choked; wondering helplessly whether Cole was even strong enough to move the stones.

"Breathe!" Lloyd yelled again. A tiny shaft of light broke through the dark as Cole began heaving rocks out of the way. The two combined factors made Jay relax a little.


	6. Chapter 6

"There," Cole said breathlessly as he deposited the last enormous stone down, leaving a small opening in the rock wall. "Jay, can you get out-?"

The rest of his sentence was cut off as Jay exploded through the small space, rain drenching him immediately. He flung himself onto the ground, buried his face in the mud, and kissed the earth soundly.

"You're weird," Lloyd noted.

"I second that," Cole grinned as Jay picked himself up, the front of his pajamas now brown with mud. "Now that our fears were all faced, wanna go back inside?"

"I'm freezing," Lloyd added.

Jay grinned. "Let's do it. Cole, did you finish the hot cocoa mix?"

"Mayyyyyybe," Cole said shiftily as he, Lloyd, and Jay made their way back through the pouring rain. "Hey, are those the other guys?"

For running toward them, still in pajamas, were Kai, Zane, Nya, and Sensei Wu. Jay began frantically trying to clean the mud off of his face.

"What in the name of the Great Devourer were you _doing?_ " Kai yelled. A crash of thunder banged through the night. "Me and Zane woke up and you guys were gone!"

"Why are you so muddy, Jay?" Zane asked politely.

"Going out in the storm was extremely irresponsible," Sensei Wu said sternly. "Especially at night, without the whole team present, and taking Lloyd too! What were you thinking?"

" _Were_ you thinking?" Nya raised an eyebrow. Jay groaned.

"Look, it's freezing and we're all getting wet. Can we go inside?"

"I'll make some tea," Wu decided. "You will all change your clothes and come to the kitchen. I do not wish for any of you to get sick."

"We did good tonight," Jay whispered to Lloyd as he fell into step beside Cole. "What do you think, Cole?"

"I think we did," Cole whispered back.

Lightning flooded the sky as the ninjas stepped inside, closing the door firmly behind them.


End file.
